1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to hypodermic syringes and particularly to safety syringes designed to avoid accidental sticks.
2. Prior Art
The risk of contracting diseases such as HIV or hepatitis from accidental sticks with dirty needles is a potentially deadly hazard for medical professionals. Many syringe designs have been created that attempt to avoid or minimize this risk. Although most designs provide safety advantages over the conventional syringe, many come with substantial drawbacks. One of the most serious is the length of time between the completion of the injection and the covering of the needle. During this period, a window of opportunity exists for an accidental stick. Frequently, the minimization of this window comes at the price of creating a complicated syringe that is operated quite differently from a conventional syringe. The complicated designs often result in a syringe that is expensive to manufacture. The presence of these short comings in the prior art gives rise to the need for a safety syringe meeting the following objectives.